Author: Loyd Harp

Married with 3 kids and living in southern England. I'm a youth worker by career, and a music lover at heart. Metal, punk, hardcore, indie rock, free jazz, folk, classic country all have a place in my collection.

June 5, 2020

I’ve reviewed 3 different releases from Shadow Puncher (for 2 different publications), and one of the things I’ve noticed is the diversity of sounds and influences on each project. While the one-man band from Norway functions within the death metal genre, each release has a different feel.… Continued →

Mad at the World has had a very interesting and diverse career as a band. They started out doing somewhat dark synth-pop on their self-titled debut (in the vein of Depeche Mode, New Order, Clan of Xymox), then added guitars to their new wave sound for Flowers in the Rain.… Continued →

May 29, 2020

I won’t turn this post into a political post, as I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of that. But in times like these, it’s important to find voices worth listening to. Too often Christian bands have been too closely aligned with playing it safe–if not musically, then at least lyrically.… Continued →

May 15, 2020

After releasing last year’s opus Young in My Head, Starflyer 59 are already back. The veteran indie rock band have just released a new single, “This Recliner” and boy oh boy is it good! Fueled by inspiration from the best of his 80s new wave AND shoegaze influences (The Church, Psychedelic Furs, Jesus and Mary Chain, et.… Continued →

May 8, 2020

When Extol’s first album came out in 1998, the Christian hard music scene had been dominated by hardcore and the then-developing metalcore sound. This was being spearheaded prominently by labels like Solid State Records (a division of Tooth & Nail), and Facedown Records.… Continued →

May 1, 2020

While metallic industrial became the dominant form of industrial music in the mid 90s and beyond, it was the dancier stuff that held my attention better. I liked the heavier stuff too (Circle of Dust, Mortal, Generation) because it gave a new spin on metal, but after the while the genre seemed to blend into one.… Continued →

April 24, 2020

SoCal hardcore band Point of Recognition (or Point of Wreckinthangs as they were affectionately known by fans) released 3 full-lengths, an EP and a pair of split releases before disbanding in the mid-2000s. Members popped up elsewhere in the scene, but the band’s existence was sadly short.… Continued →

April 23, 2020

Risen, up and coming metalcore band from Indianapolis, had just added Travis Fields as second and “unclean” vocalist. Fields cut his teeth in Indiana band A World Apart before joining Risen this year. The band, also featuring Jammin Shue on guitar (also formerly of A World Apart), clean vocalist Chandler Ballinger, Mason Beard Beard on drums (also of Symphony of Heaven, Mystic Winter), bassist Heidi Dendler and guitarist Hyperion Zhang, are currently writing their debut album through Apollyon Productions.… Continued →

April 17, 2020

Good Saint Nathanael is the alter-ego of Nate Allen (Destroy Nate Allen). Whereas DNA was quirky and sometimes frantic acoustic punk, the saintly version is subdued, still quirky, but much more poignant indie folk. Last year’s Hide No Truth was filled with ardent reflections on life, God’s grace, and themes of spiritual abuse and the need for healing.… Continued →

March 27, 2020

You’re probably tired of hearing it, but these are strange times we’re living in. How could any of us have been prepared for the reality in which we find ourselves? I don’t know about you but I’ve read a lot of dystopian fiction and watched a ton of post-apocalyptic films.… Continued →

March 13, 2020

Instrumental indie rock super group Unwed Sailor has released a new video to accompany their single “Camino Reel.” The song comes from their soon-to-be-released album Look Alive, and their recent material finds them rocking out a little bit more than in the past.… Continued →

The Crucified is probably the most legendary Christian hardcore band of all time. They only released 2 full-length albums (plus some demos, and later re-issues) before disbanding in the early 90s. However, their influence cannot be overstated. Their blending of hardcore punk and thrash metal into a unique take on crossover thrash touched and influenced bands in genres as diverse punk, alternative, metal, hardcore and even industrial.… Continued →

March 6, 2020

Along with L.S.U. and the Altar Boys, another band that was really influential in getting me into alternative music (as opposed to straight metal and thrash of my teenage years) was Breakfast with Amy. Their debut album had enough punk rock influence to appeal to that side of me that wanted noise and aggression, but there was more to their sound than just loud, fast, and angry.… Continued →

February 28, 2020

Though a fantastic classic/doom metal band, Chicago’s Trouble were always slightly confusing. They often used Christian imagery, biblically-themed lyrics, and somewhat uncharacteristically for doom metal–a positive outlook. Take this ballad from their 1990 self-titled album:
Please, take His hand
The time has come to learn
Please, take my hand
Let me take you to learn
And yet, the band played almost exclusively secular venues with other secular artists, and depending on which band members you talked to, they seemed to distance themselves from the “Christian” tag.… Continued →

February 25, 2020

Seattle-based hip-hop label Illect Recordings are at the top of their game after more than a decade of releasing quality hip-hop and alternative rap. They’ve just released three new projects which can be streamed, or even downloaded for free!
The first is an instrumental album from Sivion called “Group Therapy: Beats” and it features a number of underground hip-hop producers on different tracks.… Continued →

February 21, 2020

Zao had already made a name for themselves, working up from the underground, with a 7″, cassette demo(s) and 2 full-lengths. They were quickly becoming known for taking hardcore in a new direction. I remember a friend telling me that although he loved the riffs on their sophomore effort Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation, he also found them really hard to dance to.… Continued →

February 14, 2020

I suppose that the first time you hear a band forever affects the way you think or feel about them. Although Undercover already had a long history behind them when I first heard them in 1990, I was completely unaware of it.… Continued →

February 12, 2020

L.S. Underground (AKA LSU, L.S.U. LifeSavers Underground, Lifesavers, Lifesavors) have been doing alternative music in various forms since the early 80s. “The Grape Prophet,” originally released on Blonde Vinyl in 1992 was a concept album full of nuance and metaphor representing a young man’s journey looking into what was deemed a potentially dangerous Christian cult.… Continued →

February 7, 2020

In the late 80s/early 90s I was a straight-up metalhead. Thrash was my favorite variety, but I dipped into other stuff as well. But I had started developing a taste for punk too. The pace and beat of hardcore punk was actually very similar to thrash, but with different guitar tones.… Continued →

January 31, 2020

By the time Give us Barrabbas came out (the band’s 7th album), The Blamed had already gone through at least 4 different genres: punk rock, crossover thrash, hardcore punk, and punk metal. Now they were dabbling in experimental post-hardcore, which, for my money was their most successful rendering of noise to date.… Continued →

January 24, 2020

Another great example of early Christian punk/post-punk/new wave from the UK is Writz. They released one album in 1979 that would rival anything from the early CBGB’s scene, or even the stuff coming out of London or Manchester at the time.… Continued →

January 23, 2020

Huntingtons are back with their first new album of recorded material in 17 years—their 8th full-length overall. This time around the band comprises Mike Holt (vocals/bass) Jonathan “Cliffy” Walker (guitars/vocals) Josh Blackway (guitars/vocals) and Chris Eller (drums).
While the band has been known for its admiration for the Ramones, the first thing that struck me about Muerto, Carcel o Rocanroll is how much less obvious their worship for the leather-clad New Yorkers is this time.… Continued →

January 17, 2020

If you asked me to name the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard, there would be a lot of contenders, but this one would certainly be up there. Haunting melodies (courtesy of Karen Peris), cryptic lyrics that hint at familial pain of some sort, topped off with Don Peris’s intricate acoustic guitar work and some incredible harmonies as well.… Continued →

Mexico City’s Meekness have a new track out for digital download. The extreme noise genre (and all its ridiculously named subgenres: harsh noise wall, power electronics, noisecore, gorenoise, etc.) is a tough genre to get into. It’s even arguable whether it could be called music.… Continued →

January 3, 2020

Here’s the thing . . . Sufjan is incredible. Whether or not you like his music, one has to acknowledge the astounding amount of talent the guy has. To me, he is the musical equivalent to the literary Tolkien. What I mean is this: somewhere in the deep recesses of their brains, the creative impetus for all those ideas already existed.… Continued →

December 20, 2019

Long before the Christian music industry had become familiar with industrial music via the likes of Deitiphobia, Mortal or Circle of Dust, indie stalwarts Blackhouse already had 9-10 albums out. Most of them were only available as imports or through independent mailorder, and many were on secular labels.… Continued →

December 17, 2019

Belgian lo-fi artist Bram Cools has released 2 new songs as a teaser for a new EP, which is yet forthcoming. From the artist website: “This is an EP with new versions of old songs, deconstructed versions of unreleased songs, and maybe a few songs songs that will be released gradually.”… Continued →